Mirela Ivičević — Case White

In 2016 I composed a piece Case Black for Black Page Orchestra, its name referring to ensemble’s aesthetic approach, but also to the operation "Case Black", a spring 1943 failed Axis offensive aimed to destroy the main Yugoslav Partisan force near Sutjeska river in south-eastern Bosnia, largely identified with its final phase, Battle of Sutjeska. My Croatian grandfather being among many partisans who lost their lives in that battle, and the largest number of partisans fallen on Sutjeska originating from coastal parts and islands of the region of Dalmatia, "Case Black" has always had a special place in my history and in numerous Dalmatian families’ history.

"Case White", mostly known under its final phase’s name, Battle of Neretva or "Battle for the wounded", was "Case Black’s" biggest predecessor.

In the present political climate in Croatia in which the openly antifascism-resenting state leadership keeps using way to many opportunities to try to revive the narrative of the country’s Nazi-allied regime during World War II and slide the country back into worst of extremisms, symbolic remembrance of battles fought under the principles of brotherhood and unity for a shared humanistic goal became surreally exotic. A thing to be ashamed of. The most important thing to do, especially concerning how widespread the virus of eternal Fascism currently is all over Balkans and Europe.

Neither Case Black nor Case White are in any way narrative pieces, but the aim and structure of antifascist troops in their blood-drenched name givers coincide with my ongoing fascination with co-existence of differences. In both my purely acoustic and multimedia pieces, I consider sound a space of freedom to imagine the seemingly impossible, and there is nothing more rewarding then tearing the already existing from where it was found, merging it with the imaginary into alternative realities and shaping rituals with participants who are connected with merely one thin thread. Be it a single tone, sexual attraction, the unique timbre and energy of a particular ensemble or a shared lust to break into freedom, but the one stronger than anything that divides them. Raw, imperfect, unpolished, but all ready to give their maximum.